• Harder blades require harder sharpening tools.axe image by Sean Gladwell from Fotolia.com
  
  A sharp blade not only improves the performance of a tool, but it may also decrease the risk of injury. Many say that the most dangerous knife is a dull knife. Sharpening blades, however, is skill that develops with practice. The tools used for sharpening include stones, files and steels.
  
  

Stones

• Sharpening stones, which are also sometimes referred to as whetstones or water stones, come in different grades including fine, medium and rough. The rougher the grade the more steel will be removed from the blade. Thus, with a very dull blade the craftsman should begin with a rough grade sharpening stone and progress to medium and then fine grade. Use caution, however, as inappropriate use can damage the blade. The blade should be held at a consistent angle, approximately 15 degrees, though the angle depends on the degree of sharpness the craftsman needs. One means of checking how sharp the blade is to look at the edge, also called the bevel of the blade, and see if it reflects light. If it does, the bevel should be sharpened.
  
  

Files

• Files, like whetstones, can be purchased with varying degrees of coarseness and are especially useful for sharpening softer metal blades. When using a file to sharpen a blade, the craftsman should only put pressure on the blade during the forward stroke of the whetting and release pressure on return stroke, as maintaining pressure on the return stroke can damage the teeth of the file, which may in turn damage the blade. Files are relatively fragile in that they rust easily and quickly and in that they can become dull if they are left in a tool box full of other tools. The craftsman should wrap the file in a cloth to protect it from moisture and impact damage.
  
  

Steels

• Honing steels, an example of which is the long steel rod included in many kitchen knife sets, will not sharpen an already dull knife as the quantity of steel that the honing steel removes from the blade is very small. Rather, a honing steel will straighten the blade and repair any small dings that have occurred. Many chefs use a honing steel to hone the blade of their knife before and sometime after each use as part of the general care of their tools.